There’s manpower, girl power, flower power, horsepower, higher power, nuclear power.
Now there’s. . .BRAND POWER! Are you building it?
No matter what website, blog or social media site you go to in the marketing, business, advertising and sales space, branding and personal branding are going to come up. The topic must be important, right? It is, very. Don’t get tired of it, sick of it or bored with it because it will make all the difference in your personal and business success in the long term.
We’ve gone from the dawning of the age of Aquarius to the dawning of the age of Brand-Poweredness!
If you don’t have a strong, defined, authentic, identifiable, relatable and active brand today, you will get gobbled up and swept away. You don’t have to be huge or national or on television every day, but you do need to be out, serving, solving and, yes, selling.
I love the reality show Shark Tank. It’s packed with inspired entrepreneurs with ideas on how to fill niches. I saw Tiffany Krumins’ Ava the Elephant talking medicine dispenser get picked up by Barbara Corcoran; then I met Tiffany at Tory Johnson’s first Spark and Hustle in Atlanta in July of 2010. Her products are now in thousands of stores nationwide including drugstore chain CVS. Ava the Elephant is “brand-powered.”
I love The Food Network’s Guy Fieri, host of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. He profiles little mom and pop restaurateurs who have been in business for generations making some of the most delicious, unique dishes in their towns. After a location is featured on his show, people will make it a destination if they are passing through. Be it burgers, meatloaf, hash browns or latkes, all these restaurants are “brand-powered” for what they serve.
Here are 12 ways to enhance and develop your “brand power.”
- Be practical, tactical and useful
- Be easy to find and understand
- Be helpful and solve problems, pain or fear
- Be authentic
- Be caring, kind and generous
- Be grateful
- Be respectful and have integrity
- Be indispensable
- Be resilient
- Be responsive
- Be paying it forward and giving back
- Be fun and have a sense of humor
How are you developing your brand power? Stay with it–it will pay off, long term.
I know it relates to a lot of what you’re saying, but as a lucky 13th step I would add “Be Passionate”.
deborah shane
Robert.. indeed, and a big yes to that!
Thank you, Deborah!
Until a couple of years ago, I never really knew what #brandpower was.
Now, I do. The internets have made is possible for anyone to have a brand. The trick is to not only do those 12 things you suggested, but to keep doing it for the long-haul.
No more one-hit-wonder-reality-show-wonders needed.
Right, everyone???
The Franchise King®
SearchBlogger
Hi Deborah,
Nice list, I would also add ‘Be consistent’ A lot of small business owners I work with in the UK think they need to have a slightly different brand online compared to offline.
deborah shane
Joel, thanks for your comment. Long haul is the key. Perseverance and being fluid, allowing your brand to grow and evolve with the times.
deborah shane
Searchblogger, hello there in the UK! Unification of your message online, offline, on your business cards, any marketing activity
is how you build impact and recall. Thanks for your comment.
Lacy Ogan
Great post Deborah! I have found that defining that brand is a challenge with many of the clients I work with, let alone getting to your 12 steps to enhance it (which I think are great!)Many tend to get too literal and don’t look to expand beyond their core offering. Just because you are a restaraunt doesn’t mean your brand can only be about food. Joel, great point about being in it for the long haul, it’s not a process that is going to work overnight.
deborah shane
Lacy, it is challenging, as we think everyone gets it and it is sometime hard to nail or define. Brands that know their core but have depth are most intriguing to me. “build your brand and let it grow organically”. Thanks for your comment!
Eddie Gear
Deborah, thanks for your easy to follow tips. I am trying to build a brand image with my readers. I read recently a book by Guy where he talks about how we need to enchant people. This helps build a brand that people will remember.
deborah shane
Eddie, thanks and I am glad it made some sense for you in your process. Yes, Guy Kawasaki, great book, powerful ideas for today’s branding for all!
Michael - Shoplet Promos
I think these steps oversimplify branding a bit but it’s still helpful. All of it is true but it takes a concerted effort from the entire business to create a strong brand. Focused marketing efforts. All employees. Understanding that a company is more than just a product or service. Everything the customer sees has to communicate the brand.
Thanks for the article, Deborah!